Whitby 18u – OBA Champions
The Midget AAA OBA’s took place in Vaughan over the August 25-27 weekend with 12 teams representing their Affiliate organizations.
Through the first four rounds of play in the double-knockout tournament, Whitby remained undefeated, with victories over the Waterloo Tigers (3-1), Tecumseh Rangers (11-0), Vaughan Vikings (12-4) and the Baseball Canada 18U National Champion London Badgers (4-1).
The four remaining teams paired up with the Etobicoke Rangers beating London and the Mississauga North Tigers handing Whitby their first loss of the weekend 8-3.
With three teams remaining, there was a draw for a bye into the finals, and the Whitby were the recipient. Etobicoke and Mississauga North then met in a sudden death game with Mississauga North coming out on top.
That set up the winner-take-all final between Mississauga North and Whitby. Whitby moved out to a 2-1 lead after the first inning, and, after a tight second inning, Whitby started its march towards the championship behind both the complete game pitching effort of Jacob Ebbs and the offense putting up a tournament-high 15 hits.
In the end, Whitby prevailed by a score of 14-1 over the Tigers earning the title of Provincial Champions.
That concluded an extremely successful season which included being Finalists in both the Midget Eliminations tournament and the University of Michigan tournament, placing 3rd in the EBLO Premier Division standings, and three other tournament semi-finalist births.
Best of luck to all the 18U Whitby as they move forward to post-secondary education and Junior baseball next season!